APPELLATE HIGHLIGHTS

Bright v. Sorensen, 2020 UT 7 (Feb. 18, 2020)

Feb 18, 2020

In this consolidated interlocutory appeal of three district court orders denying motions to dismiss medical malpractice lawsuits, the court held: 1) that the fraudulent concealment and foreign object tolling exceptions in Utah Code § 78B-3-404 can extend either the limitations or repose periods; 2) that when a plaintiff pleads fraudulent concealment as a response to an anticipated affirmative defense, he or she is not required to plead with particularity under Utah R. Civ. P. 9(c); 3) that the foreign object exception applies in cases in which “foreign” material is wrongfully left in a patient, not where the material left is what was intended by a surgery; and 4) that the Act did not retroactively bar one of the plaintiff’s negligent credentialing claims.